Rewired.GG Makes Europe’s Largest Ever esports Team Investment
7.11.2019 10:00:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
Rewired.GG, the €50m esports venture fund that invests in the global growth of esports, is delighted to announce that it has invested a further €14 million into Team Vitality, taking its total investment to date to €34 million. Today also marks the opening of the new multi-million euro Team Vitality headquarters in Paris, called V.Hive, which will be open to the public. In a world’s first for an esports team, the 10,700 sq ft V.Hive has more than 530 sq ft of store front in the bustling heart of Paris, and will offer engaging esports discoveries and experiences to anyone who walks in.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191106005183/en/
Team Vitality Counter Strike players (from left to right): Alex 'ALEX' McMeekin, Cédric 'RpK' Guipouy, Mathieu 'ZywOo' Herbaut, Dan 'apEX' Madesclaire. (Photo: Business Wire)
Team Vitality is one of the biggest esports teams in Europe and boasts some of the world’s top esports players and coaches. It is one of only ten European esports teams in the League of Legends European Championship franchise; and has recently won the 2019 World Championship for Rocket League, won the 7th season of the prestigious ECS tournament for Counter-Strike:Global Offensive and took 3rd place in the 2019 FIFA World Championship. It is also one of only a few esports teams with blue chip sponsors such as Orange, Renault, Red Bull and adidas.
Rewired.GG forecasts that esports will rival traditional sports such as soccer and basketball and will be a major investment category for institutional investors, funds and investment managers. By 2020 it is estimated that the monthly global esports audience size will be nearly 600 million*, equivalent to the current global audience of the English Premier League.
Today’s investment, along with the €20 million that Team Vitality received from Rewired.GG in November 2018, is thought to be the largest investment into a European esports team to date. The Team, which was founded in 2013 with €10,000, aims to be one of the world’s first $1 billion esports teams.
The funds will be used to support the continued growth of Team Vitality as the team pursues further expansion across India and China, where it is acquiring new players and launching a network of esports academies. Funds will also be used to acquire new players and to launch new lines of merchandise globally: as well as opening V.Hive, the team has also today launched its first Team Vitality brand of limited-edition adidas trainers.
As with any major sport, the business of esports is based on media rights, advertising, prize money, merchandise, sponsorship and partnerships. Revenue from these are growing exponentially.
In 2017 it was estimated that esports generated $655 million in annual revenue, including 38% from sponsorships and 14% from media rights. By 2022, it is forecast that media rights will reach 40% of total esports revenue and that total global esports monetization will reach $3bn.*
CEO of Team Vitality, Nicolas Maurer said:
“In 2013 we started Team Vitality with €10,000. Today Team Vitality has built amazing teams that regularly win tournaments all over the world, and a strong brand that is backed by our amazing and dedicated fans and our premium sponsors. Receiving further backing by Rewired.GG after the initial investment of €20M in November 2018 is a testament to the strength not only of the team but also a comment on the growth of the sector as a whole. This investment will go towards continuing to turn Team Vitality into a global esports brand and we look forward to providing further updates on our future wins as we continue to pursue V for Victory.”
Amit Jain, Principal at Rewired.GG commented:
“Any industry with an audience that’s growing rapidly into hundreds of millions is hugely exciting and esports is no exception. We’ve seen the current esports trend many times before in the tech sector: first the number of eyeballs grows exponentially, and then full monetization comes later. We believe that esports is one of the world’s fastest growing industries today, and the success of teams like Team Vitality show that there is real opportunity for growth in this market. We are well on the way to building one of the world’s first billion-dollar esports teams.”
-ends-
Footnotes and References
*BBC
Video of esports world champion, Rocket League player Kyle ‘Scrub Killa’ Robertson, and esports super-coach Mike ‘Gregan’ Ellis, are available to embed into stories relating to this release, using these links:
Gregan: https://youtu.be/uLN4S1LFVgI
Scrub Killa: https://youtu.be/LSg-rwTeBHk
Images are available to download here and must be attributed to: Team Vitality: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Ol4_J_pdo8S7c6W-YZ8tkgTrfOFPd4Xd
About Rewired.GG
Rewired.GG is an esports venture fund investing in the talent and ideas that are driving the global growth of esports. In November Rewired.GG 2018 backed European esports leader Team Vitality with €20m of investment to create a global esports brand. The investment thesis of the Rewired.GG esports venture fund is that esports is at an exciting tipping point. The NFL earns around $50 per fan, but that number for esports is only $3.20*. Rewired.GG predicts that this upside potential revenue growth per fan combined with rapidly growing global audiences with rapidly-growing spending power, will generate significant future returns.
About Team Vitality
Team Vitality is an international esports organisation that was founded by Nicolas Maurer and Fabien Devide in 2013. The team has players from ten different nationalities and boasts some of the biggest players in the world, including the world No.1 Fifa player, world No.1 CS:GO player, and the world champion Rocket League squad. Team Vitality players compete in a portfolio of 9 games with 10 competitive teams. Team Vitality's main League of Legends roster competes in the League of Legends European Championship (LEC), which they joined after purchasing Gambit Gaming's spot. They are sponsored by Orange, Red Bull, Renault and Adidas.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191106005183/en/
Contact information
To request interviews please use the contact details below:
Helen Tarbet / Simon Compton / Kim van Beeck / Hannah Ratcliff (Buchanan Communications)
rewired@buchanan.uk.com
+44 207 466 5000
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Interoperability and Trust Key to AI Commerce: Alipay+ and S&P Global Report2.9.2026 09:33:00 EEST | Press release
A new report by Alipay+, the unified wallet gateway of Ant International, in partnership with S&P Global, reveals a growing "commerce digitalisation gap", with people increasingly expecting seamless mobile payments and intelligent digital assistance, yet friction – from inconsistent payment acceptance to trust in AI – still define their experience. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260901394299/en/ The study, which surveyed 6,000 consumers across nine markets in Asia, Europe and the US on their cross-border spending habits, points to a major shift underway in global commerce — one where e-wallets, AI and interoperable digital ecosystems are becoming foundational to how consumers discover, transact and engage across borders. Key findings: Travel exposes gaps in global commerce infrastructure: More than half of consumers cite uncertainty around merchant acceptance (53%) or lack of access to preferred payment metho
Kontoor Brands Unveils Helly Hansen Growth Strategy and 2030 Financial Targets2.9.2026 09:30:00 EEST | Press release
Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE: KTB) today announced Helly Hansen’s long-term growth strategy and 2030 financial targets, which Kontoor Brands will present at the Helly Hansen® Investor Day later today. The plan is designed to scale Helly Hansen globally while significantly expanding its profitability through 2030. "With 150 years of technical heritage and an authentic right to win globally, Helly Hansen is a brand with tremendous long-term growth potential," said Scott Baxter, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Kontoor Brands. "Strong alignment between our teams has allowed us to integrate quickly and move straight to executing against the opportunity ahead. Our sustained investment in Helly Hansen will be a catalyst for its next phase of growth, and we are confident in our ability to deliver significant value for our consumers, employees and shareholders for years to come." A Focused Growth Strategy: To deliver against these targets, Helly Hansen’s growth is anchored in
Axelspace Announces Partnership with Airbus Defence and Space to Deliver Satellite Imagery to a Broader Market2.9.2026 09:30:00 EEST | Press release
Axelspace Corporation (“Axelspace”), a leading microsatellite company committed to making “Space within Your Reach,” announced today a new agreement with Airbus Defence and Space, a global leader in Earth observation including optical and radar satellite imagery, to provide mid-resolution optical images captured by Axelspace’s Earth observation microsatellites “GRUS.” Under this strategic partnership, we will develop and deliver innovative solutions that meet long-term customer needs for utilizing satellite imagery. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260901360086/en/ GRUS is Axelspace's series of approximately 100 kg-class optical Earth observation microsatellites. GRUS-1 is currently operated as a four-satellite constellation, delivering high-frequency, wide-area imagery. This imagery, together with value-added solutions derived through processing and analysis, supports a broad range of industries, including agr
Vara Receives World-First CE Certification for Autonomous AI in Breast Cancer Screening2.9.2026 09:00:00 EEST | Press release
Vara has received CE certification under the EU Medical Device Regulation (Class IIb) for autonomous triage in organised breast cancer screening – the first breast AI certified anywhere to report screening examinations as normal without radiologist review. In autonomous triage, examinations the system classifies as clearly normal can be reported by AI without a radiologist reading them; every other examination continues to be read by at least one radiologist. This deployment mode is intended for organised population screening, where a shrinking radiologist workforce is straining programmes that still read every mammogram twice. The certification has only been possible because Vara has developed a safety system that supervises the autonomous use of its AI models. "What made this possible is not the AI model alone," said Stefan Bunk, CTO and co-founder of Vara. "It is based on seven years of continuous monitoring of how our AI performs in the real world, on every single case. That experi
Phison Expands European Operations with Regional Office and Executive Appointments2.9.2026 09:00:00 EEST | Press release
Phison Electronics (8299TT), a global leader in NAND flash controllers and storage solutions, today announced the expansion of its European operations with the opening of its inaugural local entity in Eschborn, Germany, and the appointments of Ingvar Ersson as GM & President, EMEA, and Antony Zukowski as Regional Director, EMEA, for Phison Electronics Europe GmbH. The expansion strengthens Phison's investment in Europe and reinforces its commitment to supporting customers and partners as demand for AI infrastructure, enterprise storage and next-generation data center technologies continues to grow. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260901302026/en/ The extended organization will execute a regional go-to-market strategy that combines direct enterprise engagement with a focused ecosystem of distributors, system integrators and strategic partners to accelerate adoption of Phison's Pascari enterprise SSD portfolio.
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom